that outbreak traced back to tainted steroids that were mixed at a massachusetts pharmacy. new england compounding center. jim axelrod is here to get us up to date on the case. jim? >> reporter: we learned today that the federal investigation into n.e.c.c. is at a crile cal phase and a source says charges could be filed soon after the first of next year. that would be welcome news for scott shaw in denton, north carolina, who's been making regular trips to the cemetery for 13 months now mourning his mother. >> we could take the dying, but the suffering was beyond what we could take. >> reporter: she was a vibrant 77-year-old until she took tainted steroid injections compounded by n.e.c.c. for a bulging disk in her back and contracted fungal meningitis. she died a cruel death, plagued by crippling headaches and excruciating sensitivity to light. >> it was literally a war going on within her body. she had a fungus that was growing that was taking her over and the most powerful drugs we had trying to hold it back. >> reporter: shaw was one of 64 people to die from contaminated